BENGALURU: Many vehicle users in Bengaluru, who have purchased FASTag, a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag, for quick toll payment on national highways, now have a reason to worry. Of late, they have been getting messages from banks stating that small sums of money have been deducted from their accounts at toll gates although they haven’t travelled that particular day!
Among those who have received such messages is Arvind PS Tiwari, a marketing manager with a private company. “I usually go to bed by 10 pm and one day, I got a message from my bank stating that Rs 30 had been paid at Plaza1@km 14825 at 11.35 pm with my vehicle number, which has the ICICI Bank Fastag. My vehicle was at my house in Kempapura that night,” he told TNIE.
KN Shivaram Krishna, a senior manager with a private company, said he was on his way to the office when he got a message that Rs 30 was paid at the Bengaluru-Nelamangala toll plaza on December 19. “My vehicle was at my home in Abbigere from where I was going to my workspot. Some plazas charge up to Rs 200 for permitting vehicles to pass through. I was worried if bigger amounts could get deducted in future,” he added.
‘Action will be taken for wrongful deduction’
“I checked the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) website and sent a mail to the ID given there a week ago along with a screenshot of the message. There has been no response,” Krishna said. VP Bilas Brahmankar Regional Officer, NHAI, Bengaluru, said such issues may have taken place. Many agencies were involved in the implementation of the project.
Apart from NHAI, Indian Highways Management Corporation Ltd., National Payments Corporation of India, banks from where the tag has been purchased, and the contractor at the toll gate were involved.
People should call the helpline number 1033 and report the matter or email to helpline1033@ihmcl.com. The money wrongly deducted will be returned to the account, he added.
Chief Operating Officer of IHMCL Jaiswal Vivek said, “Anyone in such a situation should call 1033. The complaints will reach me. Action will be taken against those responsible for the wrongful deduction.”